


The Soul of a Great Hero

by PKBackthrow



Category: Dark Souls III, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Dark Souls AU, Eri is going to be in every one of my fics istg, F/M, Fantasy Contest Entry, Midoriya's Oblivious AF, Midoriya's a Firekeeper, Uraraka's from Dark Souls II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 06:54:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20188108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PKBackthrow/pseuds/PKBackthrow
Summary: Soul of a Great Hero of legend who has long ago gone Hollow.Use to acquire souls.Souls are the source of all life, and are sought by the Undead, and even the Hollowed.-Dark Souls II





	The Soul of a Great Hero

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contest entry for the Izuocha Discord's fantasy writing event! This was kind of a pain to write out, but here it is! Hope y'all enjoy it!

* * *

Ochako Uraraka. That was her name. She was an Ashen One. Unkindled. The new Queen of Want. She awoke within the Untended Graves in a jade green, weathered coffin garbed in a simple cleric’s robe and a mace at her side. Stumbling out of the coffin, she regained feeling in her legs and arms, eyes scanning her surroundings. The glint of glass caught her eye as she scanned past an old fountain, a corpse at its side. 

_ Where am I? This doesn’t look like the Throne of Want… Am I even in Drangleic anymore? _

As Uraraka bent down to pick up the glinting object, the corpse at her side shifted. Pocketing the object which Uraraka found to be an Ashen Estus flask, much like the orange glow she had grown used to, but blue. Another glint caught her eye, Uraraka turned just in time to dodge a swing from a broken sword. Equipping her shield, she quickly parried a second strike before finishing the attacker with a riposte.

“_ Hollows _,” Uraraka spat out, “The Emerald Herald was wrong, it seems. The curse of the Darksign still plagues humanity… “

* * *

  
  


The Iron Judge, Iudex Gundyr, wasn’t too particularly difficult. What _ was _ difficult was to grasp the existence of the person in front of her. In front of Uraraka was a green-haired, masked man wearing some kind of robe. Claiming to be a Firekeeper.

“That’s crazy, Firekeepers are supposed to be women! The old myths of Lordran say that there were multiple Firekeepers, all of whom were women,” Uraraka laughed, “You can’t seriously expect me to believe you’re a Firekeeper as well? Where’s the Emerald Herald, Yaoyorozu?”

“Drangleic.”

“Huh?”

“That’s the era you are from.”

The masked man walked over to a basin filled with ash and bones and sat down beside it, patting the ground next to him.

“Come to the bonfire, Unkindled One, much has changed since the days of Drangleic. The Scholar of the First Sin, Aldia, led you astray from your duty. Obscured your true destiny as one of the accursed: to link the First Flame as previous Lords had done before you. Anyone can be a Firekeeper, you know, you just never met any that were male. Most boys, growing up, would have rather become knights, or a more satisfying role than Firekeeper.”

“Wait, so you mean to tell me I can’t get rid of the Darksign? After all that work to take the Throne?”

Uraraka had taken a seat beside the Firekeeper, concerned. She couldn’t afford to go hollow, not after all she’s been through. 

“You took the Throne of Want from Nashandra, correct?”

Uraraka nodded, “Y-yeah.”

The cleric looked back towards the entrance to Firelink Shrine.

“Oh! I—”

“You won’t find your previous gear. It burnt with the Flame. It seems Unkindled Ones do not have a recollection of linking the Flame, or the events leading up to it. Tell me, what was the last thing you remember?”

Uraraka blinked before scratching her head.

“I… I defeated Nashandra. Aldia appeared at the door. It was just Tensei of Jugo and I, but we defeated him with Tensei’s Bluemoon Greatsword and my Forbidden Sun pyromancy. After that… I took the throne. That’s all I remember.”

The Firekeeper sighed, “This would take too long to explain completely, but essentially you were taken to link the First Flame, and because you linked the Flame, you are no longer Undead. Therefore, you cannot go Hollow, unless you receive a Darksign from a Londor Pilgrim. My name is Izuku Midoriya, but most would refer to me as the Firekeeper. Go around and explore the shrine and acquaint yourself with the shrine residents. When you’re finished, come and place the Coiled Sword into the bonfire here.”

Uraraka explored the old shrine. Up alone on one of the five thrones was the only Lord of Cinder who stayed: a descendant of the Furtive Pygmies no doubt, his name was Gran Torino. The Shrine’s handmaiden went by the name Chiyo Shuzenji. She sold various wares, but more would be offered if Uraraka brought her some ashes. There was a blacksmith in the back of the Shrine hammering at a sword. Higari Maijima he called himself. Uraraka recognized him as one of the blacksmiths that had aided the Chosen Undead through his journey to link the Flame. Up by the largest throne stood a masked man in a coat. He had given some cracked Red Eye Orbs to her, urging her to invade other worlds. Hitoshi Shinsou was his name. On the steps sat alone knight. He wore a tattered cape over some leather armor with a large metal shoulder plate guarding his left shoulder. A pointed helmet rested at his side, chainmail covering his dual-colored hair instead.

“Ahhh, another one, roused from the sleep of death? Well, you're not alone. We Unkindled are worthless. Can't even die right. Gives me conniptions. And they'd have _ us _ seek the Lords of Cinder, and return them to their molding thrones. But we're talking true _ legends _ with the mettle to link the Fire. We're not fit to lick their boots. Don't you think? Shoto Todoroki, a pleasure to meet you, I guess…”

She thought the shrine was kind of sad, melancholy in its own way. She pulled out the Coiled Sword and thrust it into the ashes, cinders, and embers catching flame and lighting the bonfire for the first time in a millennium. 

“I’ll find these lords, Midoriya, and I will return them.”

“But of course, Ashen One. It is your duty,” Midoriya nodded, “The first Lord of Cinder you’ll return is the Abyss Watchers of Farron. I suggest bringing Todoroki with you if you can. Oh, and if you can, grab the small doll from the Cathedral of the Deep — it’ll let you pass the barrier into Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. Saint Aldrich resides near there, up in old Anor Londo.”

“Midoriya, I would like to strengthen myself first.”

“O-oh right, of course.” The Firekeeper seemed to internally curse at themselves, “Touch the darkness within me.”

Todoroki chuckled quietly. The Firekeeper had been practicing what to say to the Ashen One, and had gotten tripped up on something he should’ve known by heart.

After the offering of souls, Uraraka could feel her belief and strength rise once more. Her skills and power had disappeared since she took the Throne, but that was fine. She would regain them soon enough.

“C’mon Todoroki, get off your bum and join me. Adventuring beats moping in this shrine, doesn’t it?”

“I guess you’re right. But—”

“It may be pointless in the end, but living in the moment is definitely better than wasting away slowly.”

  


* * *

  


Lothric was the new name of the land they found themselves in. Uraraka could see what she assumed to be Anor Londo in the distance. Next to the bonfire was a golden sign. 

“Mirio… of Astora… Should I summon him, Todoroki?” Uraraka stood up from her crouch to look at the deserter.

Todoroki shrugged, “He’s of the Warriors of Sunlight, I don’t see why not.”

Before Uraraka could touch the sign though, it disappeared. Ahead of her, by a wall overlooking the rest of the kingdom of Lothric, stood a knight. On his back was a shield with a depiction of the sun painted on it, and his head a simple iron heaume with a red feather. He turned around to find a cleric and an Abyss Watcher staring at him, wide-eyed.

“Haha! Hello there! It seems as though our worlds have become intertwined. My name is Mirio Togata of Astora, though many know me as the Knight Solaire.”

“_ Solaire _? As in ‘Journey for my own sun’ Solaire?” Uraraka took a tentative step towards the knight. Back in Drangleic, she had also joined the Warriors of Sunlight and received a shield with the very knight in front of her painted upon its face.

“Well, once upon a time, yes. But that journey has long since ended. My sun lies in helping others through jolly cooperation. Who, might I ask, are you two?”

“Ochako Uraraka, of Drangleic. This is Shoto Todoroki of the Abyss Watchers of Farron, don’t mind him, he’s kind of a pessimistic grouch. We’re Unkindled Ash on a journey to return the Lords of Cinder to their thrones.”

Mirio perked up. If he wasn’t wearing a helmet, Uraraka was sure she would’ve seen his face light up in excitement.

“May I accompany you on your journey, then? Here, take a Soapstone.”

Sola- Mirio was a unique person. He was like the polar opposite of Todoroki. The trio continued down the stairs from the High Wall of Lothric bonfire down to the lower courtyard. There, they met the nurse of Prince Lothric who pointed them in the direction of Vordt, an Outrider Knight who guards the path to the Undead Settlement. 

  


* * *

  


The trio returned to the Shrine after making it to the Dilapidated Bridge’s bonfire to restock and strengthen themselves at the Firekeeper. Midoriya had been ecstatic to meet Mirio.

“A Knight of Sunlight from the days of the First Lord! It is my honor to serve you.” Midoriya bowed in front of Mirio, much to the Knight of Sunlight’s discomfort.

Todoroki sat by Hisashi of the Great Swamp to hone his pyromancies, learning the fire breathing Fire Surge pyromancy in minutes. Uraraka was surprised at first to learn that the Half-Lord of Cinder, Half-Unkindled, had an aversion to fire at first, opting to use more ice-based sorceries instead. Their encounter with Hisashi had reminded the skeptic that fire could still be kind. Uraraka walked over to her Thrall friend they saved from a Lothric dungeon, Hagakure she called herself. The thief had asked the trio to give a ring to someone named Ojiro within the Undead Settlement, but he had been long dead — his bones scattered around a fire near the entrance to the town. At the news, the thief curled up and cried silently. Sobs racked her frail frame, gasps echoing throughout the empty shrine.

Uraraka sat on the small bridge in the back of the shrine, by where Higari worked. Midoriya walked up to her and sat down next to her.

“It’s never easy, watching people come and go. Even with the curse of the Undead, people can still truly die. Hagakure will move on eventually.”

“I guess… Tell me. Why did you become a Firekeeper?”

“... I am… unsure.”

  


* * *

  


The trio had traveled through the Settlement, meeting a new friend. Taishiro of the Knights of Catarina. He wore a peculiar set of armor, it reminded Uraraka of a large onion. Mirio looked surprised to learn the knight was also Unkindled.

“There sure are quite a few of you Unkindled, makes you wonder how many more there are.”

They continued onwards through the Crucifixion Woods meeting a sorcerer by the name of Aizawa. He was surrounded by scrolls and shelves, muttering sorcery formulae under his breath when the quartet approached him. 

Uraraka gave the disgruntled sorcerer a Homeward Bone, promising she would find sorcery scrolls for him by the time they fought their first Lord of Cinder. They continued on to fight the Crystal Sage and gain entry into the Cathedral of the Deep. Taishiro had suggested that they stop there first before entering the swamp, since it was on the way.

Upon making it past the countless dogs and hollows, Uraraka rested in the Cleansing Chapel, Paladin’s Ashes in her pocket and an Estus Flask shard in her hand. Todoroki was exploring the chapel while Taishiro cooked some soup over the bonfire. Mirio noticed someone prostrating in the corner by the altar behind the bonfire.

“Ah… three of you have the same scent as that lady… Please, my niece — my lady, must be saved. She _ must _ see flame.”

The man Mirio noticed was a slave knight from the days of the First Lord.

“Come… take a look,” the slave knight offered a small scrap to Mirio. 

A flash of light and they were gone, Taishiro’s soup boiling over. 

  


* * *

  


Midoriya was talking with the handmaiden when Uraraka, Todoroki, Mirio, and a knight of Catarina stumbled out from the bonfire, ice coating their armor and a scythe in the Ashen One’s hands.

“Welcome back to the bonfire Ashe—”

The Firekeeper was cut off as Uraraka pointed a finger at him.

“You didn’t say there would be old men dragging us into paintings, asking us to get rid of some dictatorial lady ruling over some frosty wasteland.”

Midoriya blinked, noticing that a slave knight was hunched behind the quartet.

“Y-you, you traveled to Ariandel?”

“Yes. Also got the stupid doll.”

Mirio took off his heaume, shaking the snow out of his hair, “At least you got some cool scythes and a miracle out of it. Besides, Irithyll is going to be just as cold too.”

The handmaiden chuckled, “Don’t go making the Unkindled upset by withholding information, Izuku. They do have cinders coursing through their blood after all. Budding relationships need complete communication.”

“R-rela—”

“_ Relationships? _ Shuzenji, ma’am, what gave you the idea that, that—”

“You and the Firekeeper have feelings for each other?”

“_ Todoroki! _”

Uraraka whipped her head around to look at Todoroki, betrayal on her face.

“Chiyo, what are ‘feelings for another’?”

“Oh, Izuku, you’re so unbelievably naïve.”

  


* * *

  


Hours upon hours of trudging through a poison swamp with a thick canopy with invaders and giant tree monsters chasing her is not how Uraraka imagined she would be spending her afternoon. She had promised Aizawa of Vinheim that she would be sure to find him sorcery scrolls, which meant she wanted to get that out of the way before progressing onwards to the Abyss Watchers’ Mausoleum. A backstab and a lightning spear later, the quartet was finally rid of the last invader plaguing their journey.

“Ugh, Todoroki, are you sure you know where the scroll is?” Uraraka grunted as she unsheathed her scythe’s blade from the fading phantom’s corpse and picked up the Estus Flask shard, placing it in her pouch with her Undead Bone shards.

“Yes, there should be a small alcove somewhere with a scroll from Old Oolacile. I’m certain that’ll satisfy Aizawa’s tastes. 

Elsewhere in the swamp, Mirio and Taishiro were putting out the three fires to open the way towards the Mausoleum. According to the deserting Abyss Watcher, access to the Lords of Cinder’s Mausoleum had required that a puzzle be solved. Less of a puzzle and more of a trek throughout Farron Swamp, putting out chimney fires to cause a door to open by some mechanism. How it worked, Todoroki forgot. It just worked. 

Uraraka’s “world” was a strange one. There was no singular “host”, nor were there any summoned phantoms that entered by way of a White Sign Soapstone. Mirio had explained that the reason there were so many more physical heroes were that their timelines had become intertwined by chance, as was characteristic of the lands they found themselves in. It was how Lordran functioned, how Drangleic functioned, and now it is how Lothric functions. So, questions as to how fires autonomously opened a large door were often left behind.

Mirio was surprised that their group had stayed together for so long. Through the desolate and hollowed High Wall, the barren and burning settlement of Undead, the hostile and damp Crucifixion Woods, the desecrated and gloomy Cathedral of the Deep, and the frigid and rotting Painted World of Ariandel, they had stuck together, fighting through hollows and evangelists, corvians and forlorn warriors, to other Unkindled, and even Ariandel himself. 

Mirio had long given up his journey to find his own Sun, instead choosing to help others find theirs and be content with that. His journey had been long, grueling, and oftentimes depressing. He’d trekked from the scorched bridge of the Hellkite Dragon, to the heights of sunny Anor Londo, to the pulsing heat of the ruins of Lost Izalith, down to the very Kiln itself, aiding various Chosen Undead of different ages and different worlds to link the Flame, or let it die. He had done so much for others, that he even became a legend in his own right to the residents of Drangleic.

So, when Uraraka and Todoroki used a homeward bone to travel back to the Firelink Shrine, Taishiro and Mirio were still traveling about the swamp, gathering treasures and equipment, putting out the flames that burned in chimneys around the swamp. 

“Mirio, my friend, you’ve been around for a long time, haven’t you?” Taishiro asked as he waded through the swamp, looking for the last chimney, “I mean you’re the fabled Knight Solaire. Unlike us Unkindled, you can still go Hollow. What is it that keeps you going?”

“Despite my goal, my whole purpose for becoming Undead and traveling to Lordran was to find my own sun — meeting and being summoned to help various Chosen Undead on their journeys to link the First Flame showed me that there are better ways for me to find my own sun,” the Sunlight Warrior replied, “And I guess it let me hold on through various eras throughout this Age of Fire.”

Taishiro gave a hearty laugh, clapping his fellow knight on the back and bringing out a cup of his Siegbräu.

“Say, I’ve been trying a new recipe for a personal brew of mine. Do y’mind trying it? I’d like to make sure my recipe’s at its best for after we defeat this Lord of Cinder. Or rather Lords, since this is an entire legion we’ll be fighting, haha!”

  


* * *

  


Todoroki and Uraraka stepped forth from the Coiled Sword’s basin at the center of the Shrine. 

“Welcome back to the bonfire, Unkindled One,” Midoriya walked over from his spot on the steps, “I see you and Todoroki have returned from the swamps of Farron.”

Uraraka nodded before stretching out by the bonfire. Between the frigid wastes of Ariandel and the muggy depths of Farron, Uraraka was thoroughly exhausted. Her arms ached from carrying her great scythes and Grass Crest Shield, her shoulders and lower back tense and sore from performing the scythes’ weapon art and bearing the weight of armor and whatever supplies she didn’t leave in the bonfire’s storage, and her head pounding from the screeching of the swamp’s residents.

Her ears were ringing from the silence of the shrine. Uraraka sat up when Todoroki approached her, concern in his eyes. She was sure he was frowning underneath his tall collar. Todoroki put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll give Aizawa the scroll now, give it here,” Todoroki held his hand out, “You need rest.”

Todoroki walked towards the back of the shrine and left the Firekeeper and Uraraka to themselves.

Midoriya walked over to the bonfire and sat down while Uraraka stared up at the rafters above. Tiny embers rose up from the bonfire’s basin as the sound of a hammer clanging against a sword echoed the shrine.

“Ashen one—”

“Please, call me Uraraka.”

“U-uraraka, may I ask that you recount your journey to me before you leave again?” Midoriya turned to Uraraka, “Before I became a Firekeeper, I wanted to go out and adventure. My vigor and vitality were too low, however.”

Midoriya had always been eager to hear tales of the world outside the Firelink Shrine, constantly asking the Shrine’s blacksmith to tell him stories, not only of Lothric, but of Lordran as well. Considering he was blind, he would commit those stories to memory.

And so the two spent a few hours, it seemed like hours at least, talking about the Ashen One’s adventures through Lothric. Time was meaningless when fractured lands fused together as the First Flame began to sputter its last cinders. The bonfire would simply spit Todoroki and Uraraka back out as if they’d been gone for a few minutes at most. 

Todoroki returned to see Midoriya and Uraraka laughing by the bonfire, the latter using her shield to prop herself up.

“And then — and then,” Uraraka was gasping for breath at this point, “We all took turns backstabbing Friede in her final form because she slipped on some of the snow that melted!”

For the first time in ages, Todoroki smiled.

“Alright, we better get going, Uraraka,” Todoroki coughed into his fist, “We can’t let Mirio and Taishiro have all the fun.”

The dual-colored knight smirked before adding: ”You can talk with your crush when we return from Irithyll.”

Uraraka flushed a violent shade of crimson and hurled a Lightning Spear at her friend, who dodged it with the grace reminiscent of the Wolf Knight.

“_ It’s not like _ that _ , I swear! _”

* * *

  


As the cleric and Abyss Watcher stepped forth from the swathe of flames of the bonfire, they found Mirio and Taishiro testing Estus soup and Siegbräu recipes. Sunbeams shone down through the canopy of the swamp and the cracks in the stone walls, lighting the fallen bridge toward the gateway up to the Farron Keep Perimeter. The resounding clashes of ultra greatsword upon ultra greatsword echoing deep from within the Mausoleum as the Lord of Cinder, the Undead Legion of Farron, clashed with itself — the Abyss had begun to take root within individual Abyss Watchers, much like the Abysswalker himself, the Knight Artorias.

“You’ve taken care of everything back at the shrine?” Taishiro looked up from his soup as Mirio bottled it in spare Estus flasks, “We’re just about ready to trek up the hill and through the fog gate, I assume.”

The quartet trekked up the steps toward the sound of ultra greatsword meeting ultra greatsword in battle as they prepared for the fight that awaited them.

  
  


* * *

  


A dodge. A Lightning Spear. A lunging arc of a flaming ultra greatsword. A sip of Estus. A parry. A double riposte and backstab.

Uraraka and her friends fell into a rhythmic dance of death with four Abyss Watchers. Typically, Farron Keep did not allow for a Host of Embers to have the assistance of three friendly phantoms, even with the Dried Finger, but Todoroki, Mirio, and Taishiro were not phantoms. However, the more Undead and Unkindled present, the more those who reside behind the fog gates strengthened. 

A Stomp Weapon Art from Taishiro’s Zweihander flung one of the Abyss Watchers into the ceiling with a resounding crack and clang. A loud crack could be heard, indicating Todoroki’s Snap Freeze inflicting frostbite onto another. Uraraka 

Mirio backstabbed the final Abyss Watcher. The second its corpse fell to the ground, blood was slowly drawn from the various Watchers’ corpses to the center of the room.

A single Abyss Watcher rose to its feet, its eyes shining a murderous crimson as it shifted into a low stance.

The room was now in flames as the quartet struggled to push back against the erratic movements of the Lord of Cinder. It flew with a crazed grace about the mausoleum, its Farron Greatsword a bright yellow-orange with embers tracing its movements.

In a last-ditch effort, Taishiro motioned to the others. Uraraka nodded and turned to her fellow Warrior of Sunlight and Unkindled.

Uraraka reached for her Sunlight Talisman and shouted.

“SUNLIGHT.”

Todoroki spread the power of Lightning Blade over his own Farron Greatsword.

“BLADE.”

Taishiro charged his Weapon Art once more.

“OVERDRIVE!”

Mirio stepped forward and raised his Sunlight Straight Sword, an orange glow surrounding him and the others.

“LET THE SUN SHINE UPON THIS LORD OF CINDER.”

And upon Mirio’s battlecry, a bolt of lightning and two empowered ultra greatswords struck the Lord of Cinder mid-charge, felling the Watcher of the Abyss in one combined attack. Todoroki could see the piercing blue eyes of this particular member of the Legion slowly lose life. The dust cleared revealing the disintegrating remains of the final Abyss Watcher with only its skull and helmet remaining, still glowing a faint orange as small cinders danced in the air around it. 

Uraraka walked over and tentatively picked up the Cinders of the Abyss Watchers, and as she did so, a panel at the back wall opened, revealing a short staircase down to the entrance of the Catacombs of Carthus. She could feel a faint draft flowing down through its entrance.

  


* * *

  


Uraraka, Todoroki, and Taishiro stumbled out into the icy cliff face overlooking the Boreal Valley between the Catacombs and the city of Irithyll after Mirio.

“_ Never _ again will I stumble through _ another _ network of tunnels and graves infested with skeletons, nor will I ever deal with the utter _ bullshit _ that is the ruins of Lost Izalith,” Uraraka hurled a Forbidden Sun pyromancy off into the valley over the cliff, “Though, I am glad that I’ve reacquired my favorite spell from Drangleic.”

Todoroki nodded sagely, as if seriously contemplating what he found most frustrating about their most recent trek through danger and brimstone. Taishiro was never quite certain what went on in the dual-colored Unkindled-Lord of Cinder hybrid’s mind.

“That Carthus Sandworm _ was _a bother to deal with, for sure. At least the lightning part about that old rumor was true.”

Mirio chuckled, bemused by his comrades’ antics, “Rumor?”

Taishiro patted the Knight of Sunlight’s shoulder and reassured him that it wasn’t important and he _ didn’t _ need to know anything about it. 

Mirio looked to the ground to see a message sign written.

_ To the Ringed City, the Unkindled must go. See what lies at the end, she must. _

_ To meet a foe turned friend. A friend turned foe. Her instincts she must trust. _

_ Only at the end will she see. Recycle time time and time again, and all bite the dust. _

“Uraraka…” The Sun Knight turned to his comrade beckoning her over to the sign, “I think we need to go back through the painting…”

Uraraka stared at Mirio. She took a deep breath.

“Gwyn. Fucking. Damn it,” Uraraka cursed, “We’re making a detour to Archdragon Peak to upgrade our gear and defeat the Nameless King. I want his swordspear.”

The quartet ran through the icy city of Irithyll and rushed to the dungeons using a shortcut Mirio knew to get to the final stronghold of the dragons.  


* * *

Uraraka stood at the top of a dune. Katsuki turned out to be the Unbreakable Patches, but for some reason he left his sign by the fog gate guarding the Spear of the Church. It was odd, considering Patches enjoyed deceiving Unkindled unaware of his infamy, as well as tormenting Midoriya back at the shrine. Perhaps it was in thanks to helping him regain his memory. Or in thanks to helping rid himself of his Hollowing.

Uraraka turned back to the tower where the corpse of Gwyn’s secret daughter, Filianore, lay. _ Then again, it seems that time has passed. Maybe Patches changed. _

Dust and ash flew across the dunes, Uraraka and her fellow knights hefted their weapons before making their trek towards the center of what they assumed to be the thrones of the Fourth Lord, the Furtive Pygmies. Holders of the original Dark Soul. The painter girl in Ariandel Chapel mentioned and “Uncle Gael” went in search to get her the pigment of the Dark Soul.

As she crossed the last ridge, Uraraka could see the hunched form of a much larger, more aged version of the Slave Knight that brought her and her friends into the Painting in the first place. He looked up and turned to face them, the blood dripping from his mouth and a gaping black and red vortex in his torso.

Mirio jogged up the slope behind her, Todoroki and Taishiro following close behind with their ultra greatswords in hand. He drew his Sunlight Straight Sword and Uraraka unlatched her newly-acquired Dragonslayer Swordspear.

The usually-jovial knight took off his helmet, “Gael.”

“_ What? _ ” A raspy voice, aged beyond comprehension, “ _ Still here? _”

“_ Hand it over. Those things. Your _ Dark Souls _ . For my Lady’s painting. _”

The Unkindled Ashes and Undead shift into various stances, the twilight shining behind them. Gael flung the corpse of the final Furtive Pygmy off his chipped and worn Executioner’s Greatsword, and flung himself towards the knights. He, too, leaped with a chaotic grace reminiscent of the Abyss Knight, Mirio pointing that out as a warning as he and the others rolled out of the Slave Knight’s wild flurry of swings and smashes.

  


* * *

  


With a final strike of lightning from her swordspear, Uraraka brought down the Slave Knight. Before he faded into ash and souls to be absorbed by the quartet, he left them with one warning:

“Time must be allowed to pass, else all that is left is ashes. Please, make sure my Lady gets the blood. The blood of the Dark Soul.”

One last sigh, and Slave Knight Gael was no more.

  
  
  


Midoriya was sitting on the edge of the staircase overlooking the bonfire, swinging his legs as he waited for his Ashen One. _ The _ Ashen One.

_ God, why do I keep saying _ ‘My Ashen One’_? Why do I always feel so warm whenever she visits? _

The freckled Firekeeper reached into one of his many pouches, pulling out the eyes he had been gifted by the kind girl.

_ “Eyes… Firekeepers aren’t meant to have eyes, Uraraka,” Midoriya had told the Ashen One. _

_ “Well, I think it’s cruel that someone as wonderful as you, someone who is so eager to hear stories about the world, cannot enjoy seeing the world for himself,” she had said, “Just think about it. I have a feeling you’re different than the Firekeepers before you.” _

That had been after one of Uraraka’s “Errand Runs” where she and Todoroki would explore Lothric looking for gear while Mirio repaired his gear and Taishiro cooked for future travels. She had found eyes in the back of a dark Firelink Shrine and presented the orbs to him upon returning to the Shrine.

The bonfire flickered and glowed brighter than normal, signifying the return of Uraraka and her group of heroes. 

Upon seeing Uraraka’s silhouette materialize out of the flames, he heard the whispers of the eyes once more. _ You must see. See. See, Keeper of the Fire. _

He shoved the eyes back into their pouch and hopped off the staircase to greet Uraraka. 

“Ashen One I—”, Midoriya had been about to tell her he couldn’t accept the eyes he’d been given, but he sensed that something about her soul had changed. It resonated at a different frequency than normal Unkindled souls. In fact, so did the souls of Todoroki and Taishiro. Mirio’s simply shined more brightly than it once had as if it had found a new, concrete purpose to fight for.

“Ashen One? Is something the matter?”

“The cycle needs to break, Midoriya,” Uraraka’s voice had taken a more serious tone, rather than the more amicable tone it usually had, “Our journey to the Ringed City sent us forward in time. The Age of Fire needs to end.”

Midoriya took a step back.

“No, that can’t be right.”

Uraraka took a step forward.

“We humans are of the Dark, Midoriya, and the Gods are no more. Their time has passed.”

Gran Torino straightened himself as much as he could, upon his Lord’s Throne.

“You’ll be needing those eyes then, boy.” He pointed to the Firekeeper.

Midoriya reached into his pouch again and brought out the pale blue orbs. He took off his mask and put the eyeballs to his face, a faint light shining from his eye sockets as he did so. He looked up to face Uraraka, his new bright green eyes staring into her embered brown eyes.

“I see an Age of Darkness. A Deep Darkness,” Midoriya looked to each of the four knights in front of him, “Go onwards, and do what you must.”

  


* * *

  
  


Uraraka, Mirio, Taishiro, and Todoroki wasted no time and rushed through the fog gate guarding the halls of Pontiff Overhaul’s church. Before the Tyrant could unsheath his greatswords to meet them in battle, he was met with two falling bolts of lightning, a Forbidden Sun, a blizzard and a Zweihander imbued with the chaos of Lost Izalith. Immediately he was forced to create a clone made of shadows to assist him with the intruding knights.

“We have no time for your _ bullshit Pontiff _.”

Uraraka’s eyes glowed brighter as the cracks of embers around her body and armor glowed brighter.

“Be consumed by the Forbidden Sun, Forlorn Sinner,” Uraraka commanded as she leaped into the sky, hurling the pyromancy at Overhaul.

“For Anri and Horace and the children they knew, we condemn you to eternity falling at the hands of every Ashen One in every timeline,” Mirio told the injured Pontiff as he hurled a Spear of Sunlight.

  


* * *

  


Mirio ran towards the familiar twisting elevator tower, waving for Uraraka, Todoroki, and Taishiro to follow him as Silver Knights from the days of Lordran fired great arrow after great arrow after them, lunging with lightning-imbued straight swords and spears. 

When they reached the top of the tower, Mirio noticed a tower that hadn’t been there when he first traveled to Anor Londo all those centuries ago.

Todoroki walked up to him, musing aloud to himself, “This must be that merging of ages stuff I’ve been hearing about before Uraraka came to the shrine. Various places from points throughout time merging together because the gods held onto their Age of Fire for so long. Anor Londo should be shrouded in a golden light and surrounded by tall buildings and walls, yet here we are above Irithyll, a valley city. Plus there were the Catacombs of Carthus above Lost Izalith and below a swamp. Carthus is said to have been a desert empire ruled by that big skeleton we fought at the edge of the Abyss in the Catacombs, Wolnir I think.”

“Must be it. Kind of like the Dreg Heap before we reached the Ringed City — it had Lothric Castle, the Earthen Peak windmills, and the original Firelink Shrine of Lordran. Still, there’s something about that tower over there,” Mirio turned once more to the lone tower, “It doesn’t look as out of place as the Dreg Heap did, but it also wasn’t here before… “

Uraraka sighed, “Well, in any case, we can’t get to it. There’s no bridge from the elevator to it.”

Taishiro perked up and reached into one of his pouches secured on his onion-esque armor.

“Hmmm… Mmmmm… If my suspicions are correct… Aha! Yes!” Taishiro ran over to the outcropping at the edge closest to the tower and tossed a prism stone over the edge. Instead of screeching to signify a deadly drop like Uraraka expected, it _ floated _ where Taishiro dropped it.

“An invisible bridge! Like in the Duke’s Archives!” Mirio exclaimed. He turned to his companions, “Todoroki, Taishiro. Clear us a way to Aldrich. Uraraka, come with me to check out the tower. Something’s off about it.”

The Abyss Watcher and Knight of Catarina forged ahead as Uraraka and Mirio ran over to investigate the peculiar tower.

Sitting in a chair, Uraraka and Mirio found a descendant of the Ancient Dragons. On the right side of her forehead was a small rounded horn, and she sat resolutely as a pale tail swished at the edge of her seat, shifting the hem of her dress slightly. She didn’t look a day over seven, but Uraraka figured it had something to do with the bent-out-of-shape time flow and the fact that the girl was clearly dragonborn. Mirio’s eyes widened slightly.

Mirio hadn’t told the others, but he was Gwyn’s disgraced firstborn son, his name taken away and in return he received an exile to the land of Astora. The Nameless King they fought in Archdragon had been a future version of himself, had he succumbed to despair. He didn’t really belong in this timeline, but he was damned if he didn’t help it break free of the cycle it had been bound to by his father.

The girl that sat in the chair in front of him was none other than the dragonborn child his brother Gwyndolin had adopted and raised to succeed his position as the head of the Darkmoon Blade Covenant. Eri was her name. In his time when he was still a member of the royal family of gods, he had acted as her big brother, often taking her to Archdragon Peak to play with the baby dragons without his family’s knowledge.

“Eri!” Mirio jumped off the invisible bridge to give the dragon girl a hug, “It’s me! Solaire!”

The girl’s eyes widened and returned the Firstborn Sun’s hug.

“Oh, Solaire! It’s so good to see you again after so long. When Gwyn spread the news of your exile, I was so sad. But I’d always knew you’d find me again. That Pontiff Overhaul has been looking to offer me as a sacrifice to that nasty ‘Saint’, Aldrich. I wonder how Gwyndolin fares. Oh, you must take me with you on your adventure!” The girl jumped up and down, reaching for her spear.

And so Uraraka’s group became five. Mirio shared with Todoroki and Taishiro his true identity and origin as Solaire, the Firstborn Sun, while Uraraka explained to Eri what they journey was for, and what they had to do.

Eri simply nodded, “If Solaire’s helping you, then it must be the right thing to do.”

As the three Unkindled and two children of the gods traveled through the fog gate, they were met with the corpse of Gwyndolin being used as a puppet by Saint Aldrich of the Deep, the second Lord of Cinder. Fortunately, he was very susceptible to the fires wrought by Uraraka’s Forbidden Sun and Todoroki’s repertoire of pyromancy, since he was essentially made of decaying flesh. Eri simply walked up to the towering creature that used to be her caretaker, and plunged her spear into the devilish Saint, whispering a prayer to whatever god still persisted that her caretaker be saved in the afterlife.

The decaying flesh and remains of those Aldrich had devoured over the years burned away to reveal Aldrich’s real skull, embered fuel to serve as one of five keys to open the way to the very top of the Dreg Heap, where the Kiln of the First Flame lay.

  


* * *

  


The five heroes of Lothric stood before the towering fog gate that led to the Profaned Capital’s throne room. The charred fossilized corpses of the Capital’s subjects piled at the base of either wall and throughout the fallen city. This was what was left of the home of the Lonely Giant King, Yhorm, better known by Taishiro as Kirishima. Mirio patted Taishiro’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

“No, no it’s okay. Really guys. I made a promise to Kirishima to slay him with the very same Stormruler he gave me should he stray from his duty,” Taishiro breathed in and took a stance. He had sheathed his usual Zweihander in favor of what appeared to be a broken greatsword with a crescent-shaped hilt with the two points pointing upward. Slowly, it began to glow with white light as air swirled around the chipped blade.

“This blade’s twin should be at the foot of his throne, Eri should be the one to grab it since she’s the most nimble of the five of us. The rest of us will draw Kirishima’s attention. Giants have a weakness against the miracles of sunlight,” the onion knight shakily gestured to Uraraka and Mirio, “You two should bombard his head with the Lightning Arrow miracle from the Ringed City, use Great Lightning Spear and Sunlight Spear when he gets close.”

The onion knight led the group through the fog gate, preparing for the worst.

“Kirishima, old friend. I, Taishiro of the Knights of Catarina, have come to uphold my promise to you. Long may the sun shine upon this Lord of Cinder!”

Kirishima got up from his throne and hefted his great machete.

Todoroki, Taishiro, Mirio, and Uraraka rushed to the right, their weapons drawn, as Eri used Hidden Body and snuck towards the right half of the hall.

Taishiro dodged passed one of Kirishima’s swings and loosed a gale-force wind with a downward swing of his Stormruler. Kirishima stumbled from the force of the blow as he was bombarded from either side by arrows and spears of lightning, Todoroki dancing about as he slashed at the Giant King’s ankles with his Farron Greatsword and Dagger. 

Until Eri reached the other Stormruler, the fight would be a long, drawn-out one, Taishiro being the only one doing noticeable damage to the giant.

A spear and arrow of lightning. The slicing of air. The crash of Kirishima’s machete slamming into the ground. Todoroki’s ultra greatsword crashing into the ground after glancing off of one of Kirishima’s anklets. A stomp. More lightning was thrown. Another air slash.

Then, it happened as sudden as an invader breaching into an unsuspecting Unkindled’s world. Taishiro had been caught by the flat of Kirishima’s blade in the middle of one his Stormruler charges. Uraraka and Mirio had to replenish their mana with Ashen Estus, and Todoroki had been catching his breath, letting his energy replenish before he could launch another volley of attacks.

A rumbling voice tumbled out of the giant’s mouth.

“I am sorry for making you keep such a promise, my comrade,” Kirishima started as he stared at his friend below, “Giants were not meant to link the fire, we’ve not an ounce of a Lord’s Soul within our veins, unlike you humans.”

“When I linked the flame, the Profaned Flame reacted poorly and lashed out as I linked the Fire during my time. Millions died, Taishiro, I cannot bear to see it happen again.”

Eri had overcharged her Stormruler, having finally reached the throne while having dodged the battle, and apologized.

“I am deeply sorry, King Yhorm, but we must have access to the Kiln. And we need your cinders to receive it.”

And she brought down a blast of air, staggering the giant backward.

Taishiro got up and limped over to his friend. He two-handed his greatsword, steadying his shaking hands as best he could.

“You know me… Kirishima. I always follow through with my promises… Perhaps, perhaps we’ll see each other in our next lives. When the world finally gets to move on.”

“Hmm… this is the end, isn’t it then? Go on, fulfill your promise to me Taishiro. I grow tired of my existence as a Lord of Cinder. Rest, rest would be nice.”

Kirishima closed his eyes as Eri and Taishiro charged and released an airblast from their Stormrulers. They took in his souls and his skull was left as cinders. Taishiro thrust his and Eri’s Stormrulers into the ground where the giant had just been a moment before. He took out his Estus Flask and noticed it was empty. 

“I believe… It is my time to go. Let us all have one… last… toast,” the Knight of Catarina coughed and collapsed next to the makeshift grave markers of his fallen friend. Uraraka started towards him, her hands glowing as she began to utter the beginnings of a healing miracle before she was stopped by a hand.

“No, no healing today, Uraraka. My core purpose has always been fulfilling my promise to Kirishima… and I have fulfilled that promise… I, I do want you to succeed in your quest, but that’s just it. It’s _ your _ quest, Uraraka. Not mine. I do not wish to go Hollow. Unkindled can still Hollow after they fulfill their promise, with or without the mark of the Darksign. You know, none of us were meant to stay in your world for so long, but we have. I’m glad I met you all, but it’s time you get going. Maybe I’ll see you again should you succeed, who knows?” Taishiro coughed again, “Now a toast… to our victory, and to your valor. Long may the sun shine upon you all.”

  


* * *

  


Fueled by their grief, and by Taishiro’s prayers for their success, Uraraka, Eri, Mirio, and Todoroki stormed Lothric Castle and the Grand Archives, making their way up to the throne room with such a speed, one would think they had stopped time and simply rushed past every obstacle, every enemy.

“** _LOTHRIC!_ **”

The sickly prince and his crippled brother heard the angry voices of four people shout the Lord of Cinder’s name.

“Oh dear, another dogged contender. I do not wish to take th—”

The brother was cutoff as several bolts and arrows of lightning were launched and a beam of souls was fired at the bed the Lord of Cinder rested upon. Todoroki had already rushed Prince Lorian and defeated him.

Uraraka stalked over to Lothric’s Cinders and scoffed, “We’ve no time to waste fighting you and your brother. We have more important things to worry about.”

  
  


* * *

  


The heroes returned to the Shrine and presented the cinders of the four Lords they had slain on their respective thrones. Midoriya began the Firelinking ritual and the five Lords of Cinder burned, the resulting fires coming to meet in the center inside Midoriya’s cupped palms.

“With the Lords returned to their thrones, I grant thee access to the Kiln of the First Flame. When you defeat the Flame’s guarding, my sign shall appear next to the First Bonfire. Summon me, and I shall extinguish the First Flame and allow nature to progress as it should have long ago,” Midoriya looked Uraraka in the eye, embered brown meeting vibrant green, “I wish you and everyone else luck.”

  


* * *

  


Uraraka, Todoroki, Mirio, and Eri stood at the archway leading into the Kiln of the First Flame. Rather than a ruined and charred arena that had housed the Hollowed Lord of Sunlight, Gwyn, the Kiln was now an open field of pale pink flowers and rusted swords from every era. At the center sat a hunched figure of embers and melted armor, sitting cross-legged by the bonfire. There was no fog gate between the four heroes and the Guardian of the First Flame, the Soul of Cinder. 

The four of them walked past the archway, and upon doing so, the Soul of Cinder stood up and drew the Coiled Sword from its bonfire, brandishing it.

The Soul used fighting aspects and abilities from numerous Lords of Cinder and Unkindled throughout the ages, sending clouds of poison gas, storms of fire, spears made from souls or lightning, and reshaping the Coiled Sword into numerous weapons and catalysts. With every unique fighting style and ability, the helmet shifted into a different face or helmet to signify from whom it drew its current powers.

Spears of lightning, great balls of soul dregs, splashes of flame and explosions of great magnitude flew back and forth between the five combatants.

Eventually, after what seemed like ages, the Soul of Cinder took a knee. Uraraka and Mirio took that time to heal themselves and Eri and Todoroki, as well as replenish their mana reserves. The Soul of Cinder’s helmet began to morph wildly until it melted into the shoulder pads of the armor, revealing a face made of fire. It then cooled a revealed the almost completely withered face of Gwyn, the points of his crown severely warped and melted by the fire. His shadowed eye sockets revealed a piercing blue light, and above his crown were two locks of ashen gray hair that pointed upwards. The Coiled Sword morphed and warped itself until it took on the shape of Gwyn’s Great Lord Greatsword, wreathed in fire and lightning.

The Soul of Cinder thrust its arm into the air, launching a bolt of lightning into the yellow sky. Mirio, recognizing this particular technique turned to the others.

“Run, and do not stop running. Lightning is going to rain from above, now go! Quickly!”

The Soul of Cinder’s movements were now more focused and more fluid. It had chosen one fighting style, one set of abilities, and it was now truly ready to defend its fire from those who would wish to take its fate into their own hands.

Great Lightning Spears were thrown. Several rolls. A block. A healing spell was thrown towards Todoroki.

Eventually, they managed to stagger the Soul of Cinder. The four heroes then ran the armor through with their weapons and pinned it to the ground. Gwyn’s piercing blue eyes dulled to a dead, hollow teal. A permanent grin was etched onto the Lord’s face, as if to say to any challengers, “I am here! To judge if you are truly powerful enough to Link the Fire!” The Coiled Sword had been sheathed in the bones and ash of the bonfire once more.

It was over. There were no more battles to be fought. Midoriya’s sign appeared at Uraraka’s feet. Mirio and Todoroki began to fade away.

“It seems as though our worlds are finally uncoupling from one another,” Mirio mused, “It has been a pleasure fighting alongside you all. I will see you should you summon me, or if our worlds meet once again. Maybe letting the world progress will allow us to see each other in person without worry of an unexpected farewell.”

“Thank you, Uraraka. Because of you I finally faced my father, the most recent leader of the Abyss Watchers, and I saw that we can have more than one purpose in existence.”

Eri reached out toward Mirio, “Don’t go!”

“It’s okay, Eri. I’ll see you again soon.”

Midoriya emerged from his summon sign and put a hand on Eri’s shoulder.

“It’s time.”

Midoriya walked over to the bonfire and motioned for Eri and Uraraka to come closer. He knelt and cupped his hands around the weak fire that had been burning at the Coiled Sword’s base. He turned to look at Uraraka, who nodded at him.

“The Age of Fire has come to an end. Let the world progress naturally as it should.”

Midoriya uttered the Age of Fire’s last words before snuffing out the First Flame, and the world plunged into darkness unlike any that has ever been known. All around the trio, it was a foggy darkness, but unlike the darkness of the Abyss or Dark Firelink Shrine, there was a warmth to the darkness.

“Can you see them? They’re dancing.” Midoriya gestured all around him, “New embers are flickering across the vastness of existence. Coming together as if set free at last.”

Without light, there could not be darkness, and without darkness, there could not be light. As more and more embers began to materialize across this new Age of Darkness, this Age of Man, Midoriya turned to face Uraraka.

Uraraka looked around in wonder, Eri sitting in her lap gazing in awe as they two began to see the embers.

“There are tiny lights all around us, Uraraka!” Eri seemed to have stars in her eyes, “I wonder if one of them is Solaire!”

Uraraka chuckled. She then noticed Midoriya facing her, examining her.

“Uraraka Ochako—”

  


* * *

  


Midoriya had been sitting in his room with Eri as they both watched Uraraka play a heavily modded and altered version of Dark Souls III on his computer. It had been a mod Hatsume put together for them as a “surprise gift”. He had a feeling some of the girls had a hand in the scripting of the new cutscenes, but the voice replication software Hatsume used was impressive.

[_ “Uraraka Ochako, I love you.” _]

Uraraka slowly turned to look back at her best friend, blushing a furious crimson.

“D-Deku?”

Midoriya couldn’t believe Hatsume had also decided to include that line in the final version of the mod. _ He didn’t mean for this to be how he confesses to his best friend, in fact, he told it to Hatsume as a joke! _

“Y-yeah?”

“This was just a joke played by Mina and the others, right?”

“Ah… Well, Uraraka, you see… uh…”

Eri giggled and answered Uraraka for the stuttering hero.

“Nope! Deku _ reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllly _ is in love with you ‘Chako!” Eri bounced up and down, excited that her two parental figures might finally get together.

Regardless of what reality anyone is in, their souls persist and can be shared with others.

And Uraraka Ochako had the soul of a great hero, as did Midoriya Izuku.

* * *


End file.
